The community-first software era
Some ideas about how to encode our values into the tools we use
Why an ephemeral model can't fund relationship-based work
People love your work because of its impact, not how it works.
How do you fund work people don't want to pay for?
Some ideas about how to encode our values into the tools we use
Why an ephemeral model can't fund relationship-based work
People love your work because of its impact, not how it works.
How open protocols and agentic development could lead to a whole new generation of social applications.
Flipboard's browser for the open social web is out for web users today.
I joined Rabble on the Revolution.Social podcast.
Ben Werdmuller explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. Always independently published, reader-supported, and free to read.
If projects are going to convince people to try alternatives to Big Tech, they need to do a much better job of explaining why they're better for people who don't care about technical details like protocols and decentralization.
Data centers are the new factories. How we think about the precedents they set matters.
"When such power is concentrated in the hands of a few, it tends to become opaque and evade public oversight, [giving] rise to new dependencies, exclusions, manipulations and inequalities."
For years, people have tried hard to get websites to build accessibility affordances. Now developers are willingly building them for AI.
It appears that the winner of a short story prize was generated with AI. But how was it selected?
Why an ephemeral model can't fund relationship-based work
Every day for 25 years, Stephen Downes has written about edtech, informing an entire industry.
What happens after the feed? And how can publishers remain independent?
One year of consistent posts is nothing to sneeze at. But when each one is genuinely useful, actionable, and insightful, that's another level of achievement.
"What comes next, after the algorithmic social feed that’s defined our digital social lives for the last decade?" I believe this very useful presentation will be referred back to for years to come.
"When you all give us your hard-earned money, we feel a deep responsibility to use it as well, and as efficiently, as possible." A responsibility A New Social lives up to in spades.
"Substack faced talent drain in 2024 linked to its platforming of Nazi newsletters, but now it’s not just the platform’s stance on hate speech that’s driving away creators."